After over half an hour, Owen exited the clinic calmly."How is Joanne?" Renee asked as she hurried forward."She's fine. She just lost a lot of blood, so I gave her a blood transfusion and some supplements. I'm guessing she'll wake up in around half an hour," Owen said nonchalantly. Simple physical injuries like these were easy to treat compared to the complex illnesses he had treated before. "That's great." Renee heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Quinton happily. "Did you hear that, Quinton? There's no need to worry. You can talk to her when she wakes up.""Hmm." Quinton just grunted, then stood up and walked to his room, his tall figure looking somewhat lonely.Owen watched Quinton leave, then asked Renee carefully, "What's your brother's relationship with that woman?""Umm…" Renee thought about it, but didn't know how to describe their relationship. "I guess they're considered siblings.""They don't look like siblings." Owen shook his head and said directly, "That woman
As expected, Joanne woke up after a while. Her head was bandaged, and she looked weak and pale. Renee was too afraid to let Quinton see her in case he might upset her. She gently opened the door and walked in, carrying a tray of fruits and smiling. "Joanne, what a coincidence to see you again so soon!"Joanne looked past Renee to make sure she was alone, then glared at her coldly. "Is it? Didn't you cause this?" "Umm…" Renee kept her head hung as she nudged the carpet with her foot awkwardly, too ashamed to face Joanne. "It's not what you think... You know how crazy my brother is, and you can't stop him when he goes mad. I didn't expect this to happen either." Joanne imagined people tackling Quinton to the ground to stop him, and her body relaxed in amusement. However, she couldn't laugh in front of Renee, so she took a deep breath and whispered, "Where am I? Your brother… won't disturb me again, right?""Actually… this is my house," Renee confessed. "My brother also lives here."
Renee couldn't understand it. "If it's not because of my crazy brother, what's your reason?" It seemed that the only thing in the whole manor that made Joanne uneasy was Quinton."I need to go back to my school to handle my affairs." A long sigh escaped Joanne. "Mr. Hunt got me that job, so I'm very thankful to him. It's like he's given me another chance, but I've let him down. After today's mess, I'm sure the parents will find fault with the principal, and I'm afraid it'll affect Mr. Hunt… that's why I want to go back to the school to settle it." Joanne felt like the only person in her life that truly cared for her was Stefan. He had rescued her so many times, but she hadn't repaid him for it. She didn't want to burden him either, so she wanted to resolve this issue even if she had to die."Oh, that's it…" Renee sighed in relief. "Don't worry. Just rest here; I'll help you settle it. Plus, don't feel like you owe Stefan something. You helped him back then, so he should help you sett
"Yes, the school won't find fault with Mr. Hunt, but the parents aren't easy to pacify," Joanne added worriedly, "Lone Pine Elementary is an important school in this city, and its students come from either rich or noble families. Now, my class's parents know that I'm a teacher without any academic qualifications or experience, and that I have terrible scars all over me. They won't let it go. They'll demand an explanation, and then they'll find out that Mr. Hunt played a part in this. It'll affect Hunt Enterprise, and Mr. Hunt too.""Yes, you're right." Renee nodded in agreement. "Well, people are always afraid of what society says, and Hunt Enterprise has had quite a bad reputation lately. The news more or less affects the enterprise's stocks and sales." Renee wasn't worried because large companies like Hunt Enterprise usually had a Public Relations department to handle any bad news that could affect the company's image."So, you should know why I insist on going back. As the person
The atmosphere immediately became tense."Okay, both of you stop talking." Renee became helpless and exhausted. She had finally persuaded Joanne to stop being stubborn, but once Quinton appeared… Well, everything returned to how it used to be."Get out!" Joanne picked up a pillow and flung it at Quinton fiercely, then jumped out of bed and hurried to the window. "If he doesn't leave, I'll jump!""Hey, stop! Let's talk things out!" Renee had to stop Quinton from approaching and prevent Joanne from doing anything stupid, and she couldn't do both at the same time. "Don't worry, I'll get him out of here. I promise I'll stop him from entering this place, and if he does, I won't stop you if you want to leave," Renee said to Joanne, then quickly walked to Quinton and grabbed his arm. "Go out. You're not welcome here.""I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I go?" Quinton demanded aggressively, not intending to leave. He sneered at Joanne, "It's been so many years. Is that all you got? Th
When Renee had first reunited with Quinton, Margaret found Quinton a dangerous and extreme person. That was why Renee had to explain Quinton's past with Joanne to Margaret. Margaret had felt sorry for both of them when she heard their story, so she didn't mind talking to Joanne. "Leave it to me. I'll take good care of Ms. Garcia," Margaret promised. She had wanted to meet Joanne for a long time, and as a member of the Everheart family, she had always wanted to repay Joanne. Since Joanne was there, Margaret could finally take the opportunity to do it. After some contemplation, she entered the room where Joanne was. Meanwhile, Quinton was still angry that Renee had dragged him out of Joanne's room. He wanted to keep arguing with Joanne."Enough!" Rene finally yelled in frustration. "Quinton, can you stop making a scene and being so pretentious?""What did you say?" Quinton was shocked, and stared at Renee in disbelief. "What do you mean? Did you finally see my dark side and start ha
"What background?" Renee dragged Quinton to the side and whispered, "How could you say that? Wasn't that child… yours?" As a woman and mother, she could empathize with Joanne. The man Joanne regarded as family and admired as a brother imprisoned her and took advantage of her. In the end, he even cruelly aborted their child… It would be devastating for any woman."Hmph! Did she tell you that?" Quinton's gaze darkened with anger as he tried to suppress his emotions."Stefan said that, so I guess Joanne must have told him about it," Renee answered honestly. She knew that was the main reason behind Quinton and Joanne's resentment towards each other, but she couldn't bring it up in front of Quinton because it was a sensitive topic. If she spoke about it, she might end up cursing him or beating him up, which would affect their relationship as siblings. There were all kinds of scumbags, but Quinton was the worst."That useless piece of trash!" Quinton clenched his fists, his hatred for Ste
At first, Quinton could forget about his hatred though he had forced himself to do so, but now he felt it bubbling up again when it came to Joanne. Because he had suppressed those emotions for so long, he became even more extreme and cruel. He wanted to do the things he had always wanted to do. "This is my business, so stop meddling in it. After so many years of loving and hating each other, we've finally parted on good terms and stopped being a part of each other's life. I'm liking the way things are right now. If you go to him again, you'll get Stefan involved in my life again, and that won't be good for me." Angry, Renee glared at Quinton. "If you want to see me in pain again, go ahead and attack him. I'll probably get killed from protecting one of you, then maybe you two will learn to behave.""Calm down!" Quinton did not want to see Renee get hurt, and her teasing hurt him enough to make him regain his sanity. He hurriedly said, "I won't go to him if you don't want me to. I als
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he
"Uh…" Amber looked like she was being put in a difficult position. She found it impudent for a man and a woman to be alone in the dense orchard at night. "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" Liam frowned, puzzled. He felt that Amber was purposely avoiding him after expressing her desire not to marry him and making Mateo her groom instead.Before, she would always put on her favorite dress and stand at the entrance of the fort, looking eager no matter how late Liam and Benjamin returned from their work.Usually, she would carry a small bamboo basket containing the tea she brewed and dessert or food she had painstakingly prepared. When Liam returned, she would excitedly welcome him and inquire after him. Lately, she no longer did that. When Liam occasionally ran into her in the fort, she would bow indifferently at him and quickly brush past him as if they were merely acquaintances. They seemed distant.Honestly, Liam found it unfamiliar. He couldn't get used to the fact that Amber
"I don't know. Why don't you ask the guards to get us some fried chicken and French fries? Didn't Mateo say that we can ask the guards for food?" Renee said.Leia's anxiety eased as she relaxed. She turned around and got out of bed, then gestured at the guard and ordered quite a lot of food. Meanwhile, Liam accompanied Benjamin to West River in the morning for a negotiation that yielded a good result. Benjamin's attitude had improved. He didn't demand an explanation from Liam about the affairs between Liam and Amber, and didn't ask about Renee or Leia either. Liam was delighted. He carried the unique desserts he had bought at the local market for Renee and Leia to enjoy. Upon arrival, he found that they were not in the room. "Weird. Where did they go?" Liam looked around, but found no sign of Renee and Leia. He casually asked a servant, but the servant stammered and insisted on not knowing anything. Anxious, Liam kept looking for them in the fort. Coincidentally, he ran into